A poor dog's best friends

A poor dog's best friends

Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

Bethany Wilson, an animal behaviorist and actress, helps Jeremy Evans, lead volunteer at the volunteer-run German Shepherd Rescue who's also a cinematographer and photographer, implant a microchip into Pacino at the shelter in Burbank. Wilson and Evans volunteer at the shelter each weekend. The work is not glamorous. They wash dogs, walk them, train them in the basics, clean up after them and try to get them adopted. Part of the struggle is that so many people come in wanting "perfect" dogs. But there are few such dogs in a shelter. It can be heartbreaking, they say, to see people come in and give a dog the once-over, and then walk away because the dog may have some flaws. Also, the dogs are so excited to see people on the weekends that they are bouncing off the walls. This can turn off prospective owners as well. The volunteers do their best to evaluate the dogs and then "sell" them to potential homes. Often, they put their own money on the line.

Bethany Wilson, an animal behaviorist and actress, helps Jeremy Evans, lead volunteer at the volunteer-run German Shepherd Rescue who's also a cinematographer and photographer, implant a microchip into Pacino at the shelter in Burbank. Wilson and Evans volunteer at the shelter each weekend. The work is not glamorous. They wash dogs, walk them, train them in the basics, clean up after them and try to get them adopted. Part of the struggle is that so many people come in wanting "perfect" dogs. But there are few such dogs in a shelter. It can be heartbreaking, they say, to see people come in and give a dog the once-over, and then walk away because the dog may have some flaws. Also, the dogs are so excited to see people on the weekends that they are bouncing off the walls. This can turn off prospective owners as well. The volunteers do their best to evaluate the dogs and then "sell" them to potential homes. Often, they put their own money on the line. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Bethany Wilson, an animal behaviorist and actress, helps Jeremy Evans, lead volunteer at the volunteer-run German Shepherd Rescue who's also a cinematographer and photographer, implant a microchip into Pacino at the shelter in Burbank. Wilson and Evans volunteer at the shelter each weekend. The work is not glamorous. They wash dogs, walk them, train them in the basics, clean up after them and try to get them adopted. Part of the struggle is that so many people come in wanting "perfect" dogs. But there are few such dogs in a shelter. It can be heartbreaking, they say, to see people come in and give a dog the once-over, and then walk away because the dog may have some flaws. Also, the dogs are so excited to see people on the weekends that they are bouncing off the walls. This can turn off prospective owners as well. The volunteers do their best to evaluate the dogs and then "sell" them to potential homes. Often, they put their own money on the line.